Throughout history, people have been interested in knowing how language first began, but no one knows exactly where or how this happened. However, we do know a lot about languages, the languages of today and also the languages of earlier times. There are probably about three thousand languages in the world today. Chinese is the language with the most speakers. English, Russian and Spanish are also spoken by many millions of people. On the other hand, some languages in the world have less than one hundred speakers.
There are several important families of languages in the world. For example, most of the languages of Europe are in one large family called Indo-European. The original (最初的) language of this family was spoken about 4,500 years ago. Many of the present day languages of Europe and India are modern forms of the language of 4,500 years ago.
Languages are always changing. The English of today is very different from the English of 500 years ago. In time some even die out completely. About 1,000 years ago English was a little -known relative of German spoken on one of the borders（邊界）of Europe.
If a language has a lot of speakers or if it is very old, there may be differences in the way it is spoken in different areas. That is, the language may have several dialects. Chinese is a good example of dialect differences. Chinese has been spoken for thousands of years by many millions of speakers. The differences between the dialects of Chinese are so great that speakers of Chinese from some parts of China cannot understand speakers from other parts.
小題1:The first paragraph mainly tells us that_______.
A．most people in the world speak Chinese
B．there are thousands of languages in the world today
C．man has much knowledge about languages
D．some people know several languages
小題2:Many European and Indian languages ______.
A．will soon die out completely
B．were once a relative of English
C．a(chǎn)re the same as before
D．come from the same family
小題3:____ seems to have changed a lot
A．ChineseB．EnglishC．SpanishD．German
小題4: The best title of this passage is        .
A．EnglishB．Changes of English
C．ChineseD．Knowledge of Language
小題1:C
小題2:D
小題3:B
小題4:D

小題1:細(xì)節(jié)題，從第一段里的：we do know a lot about languages, the languages of today and also the languages of earlier times.看出選C，人類對語言了解很多。
小題2:細(xì)節(jié)題，從第二段的：There are several important families of languages in the world. For example, most of the languages of Europe are in one large family called Indo-European.說明D項(xiàng)正確，他們是來自同一個家庭。
小題3:細(xì)節(jié)推理題，從第三段的：Languages are always changing. The English of today is very different from the English of 500 years ago.看出英語已經(jīng)改變了很多，選B。
小題4:主旨題，從第一段的：Throughout history, people have been interested in knowing how language first began,還有文章里談?wù)摰恼Z言的知識，所以選D，語言的知識。
練習(xí)冊系列答案
相關(guān)習(xí)題

科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解


The Internet is not perfect. There are many problems with it.
The Internet is not organized. There is no one in charge of the Internet. It is sometimes difficult to find what you are looking for. It is also easy to get the wrong information on the “Net”.
Some businessmen cheat people on the Internet. Internet thieves can steal credit card numbers. Some advertisers send spam to e-mail boxes. E-mail boxes are often filled with these unwanted advertisements.
Illegal businesses can operate on the Internet. These businesses sell X-rated materials, cigarettes and alcohol to teenagers.
The Internet has websites with information about making bombs, breaking the law and terrorism.
Criminals can fool people, especially children, in chat rooms. They can spread poisonous information and attack new members.
The Internet is the greatest advance in communication since human emerged. But it can also like a dark alley in a dangerous part of town. Parents need to set parental controls on their children when they use the Internet. This will keep some of the bad material away from their children.
The Internet can be dangerous to computers, too. Some people who have evil intentions enjoy causing problems for other people they don’t even know. They create computer viruses. A computer can get virus by downloading a program that has a virus in it. Some virus come by e-mail.
A virus can destroy the data a person has saved in computer files. A virus can cause a computer to crash. A virus can also reproduce itself! It can send copies of itself to everyone on a person’s e-mail address list. Then these people’s will have the same problems and can’t work normally!
小題1:Why can illegal businesses operate on the Internet?
A．Because some people like to buy banned products on the Internet.
B．Because there is no one in charge of the Internet.
C．Because X-rated materials, cigarettes, alcohol and so on can be sold well on the Internet.
D．Because people who operate businesses on the Internet are criminals.
小題2:Parental controls are needed when children use the Internet because________
A．poisonous information may have a bad effect on children
B．children may damage the computers
C．the Internet is always unsafe for the children
D．children can’t use the computers well
小題3:We can infer from the passage that the key to solving the problems with the Internet is____________
A．to improve the computers
B．to find a medicine to kill computer viruses
C．to order people not to use the Internet
D．to improve people’s moral level（道德水平）.

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解


A 7.0 magnitude（級）earthquake killed more than 230,000 people in Haiti. Then an 8.8 magnitude quake killed more than 900 people in Chile. And few weeks later, a 6.0 magnitude quake struck rural eastern Turkey, killing at least 57 people.
The earthquakes kept coming hard and fast.   1 It’s not. The problem is what’s happening above ground, not underground, experts say.
  2 They’re rapidly putting up buildings that can’t stand up to earth quakes, scientists believe.
And news reports and better earthquake monitoring make it seem as if earth quakes are increasing all the time.
On average, there are 134 earthquakes a year that have a magnitude between 6.0 and 6.9. So far this year there have been 40 earthquakes—more than in most years for that time period. But that’s because the 8.8 quake in Chile caused a large number of strong aftershocks.
Also, it’s not the number of quakes, but their destructive effects that gain attention. The death is largely due to building standards,   3  Paul Earle, a US seismologist, called for better building standards in the world’s big cities.
Of the 130 cities worldwide with populations of more than I million, more than half are likely to be hit by earthquakes.   4 “If you have a problem feeding yourself, you’re not really going to worry about earthquakes,” said Paul.
The earthquakes made everyone start to think   5  “People are paying attention to the violent planet we’re always lived on. Come back an another six moths if there has been no earthquakes, most people will have forgotten it again,” said US disaster researcher Dennis Mileti.
A．But it won’t last.
B．More people are moving into big cities.
C．Earthquakes don’t kill people, buildings do.
D．There have been more deaths overt the past decade from earthquakes.
E．Many people began to wonder if something terrible is happening underground.
F．While it seems as if the are more earthquakes occurring, there really aren’t.
G．But developing nations with growing populations don’t pay attention to earthquake preparedness.

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解


Are you a compulsive spender，or do you hold on to your money as long as possible? Are you a bargain hunter? Would you rather use charge accounts than pay in cash? Your answers to these questions will reflect your personality．According to psychologists，our individual money habits not only show our beliefs and values，but can also stem from past problems．
Experts in psychology believe that for many people，money is an important symbol of strength and influence．Husbands who complain about their wives’ spending habits may be afraid that they are losing power in their marriage．Wives，on the other hand，may waste huge amounts of money because they are angry at their husbands．In addition，many people consider money a symbol of love．They spend it on their family and friends to express love，or they buy themselves expensive presents because they need love．
People can be addicted to different things —for example，alcohol，drugs，certain foods，or even television．They are compulsive in their addictions，i．e．they must satisfy these needs to feel comfortable．In the same way，according to psychologists，compulsive spenders must spend money．
For people who buy on credit，furthermore，charge accounts are even more exciting than money：in other words，they feel that with credit，they can do anything．Their pleasures in spending enormous amounts are actually greater than those they get from the things they buy．
There is even a special psychology of bargain hunting．To save money，of course，most people look for sales，low prices，and discounts．Compulsive bargain hunters，however，often buy things that they don’t need just because they are cheap．They want to believe that they are helping their budgets，but they are really playing an exciting game：when they can buy something for less than other people，they feel that they are winning．Most people，experts claim，have two reasons for their behavior：a good reason for the things that they do and the real reason．
It is not only scientists，of course，who understand the psychology of spending habits，but also business people．Stores，companies，and advertisers use psychology to increase business：they consider people’s needs for love，power，or influence，their basic values，their beliefs and opinions， etc．in their advertising and sales methods．
Psychologists often use a method called “behavior therapy（療法）”to help individuals solve their personality problems．In the same way，they can help people who feel that they have problems with money：they give them “assignments” If a person buys something in every store that he enters， for instance，a therapist might teach him self discipline in this way：on the first day of his therapy， he must go into a store，stay five minutes，and then leave．On the second day，he should stay for ten minutes and try something on．On the third day，he stays for fifteen minutes，asks the salesclerk a question，but does not buy anything．Soon he will learn that nothing bad will happen to him if he doesn’t buy anything，and he can solve the problem of his compulsive buying．
小題1:If you use charge accounts，           ．
A．you pay in cash
B．you pay less than you should
C．you pay with credit card
D．you pay more than you should
小題2:Compulsive bargain hunters buy things for all the following reasons except that         ．
A．the things they buy are cheap
B．they believe they can balance their budgets
C．they get psychological satisfaction
D．they really need the things they buy
小題3:Behavior therapy in this case aims at         ．
A．helping businessmen to increase their business
B．helping compulsive spenders to buy less
C．finding out how people will react if they are allowed to buy
D．finding out what people will do in front of a bargain
小題4:The underlined word “those” in Paragraph 3 refers to         ．
A．different things
B．their addictions
C．their pleasures
D．charge accounts
小題5:From the passage we can conclude that         ．
A．how you spend money reveals if you are psychologically healthy
B．money is a necessity and will bring you happiness if you have much
C．compulsive buying problems can be solved by taking some medicine
D．a(chǎn)ll businessmen understand well the psychology of customers

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解


Animal experts in Croatia say a bear has learned how to trick people to let him in by knocking at the door.
They believe the 220- kilogram brown bear probably learned the trick while nudging (輕推) a door to get it to open.
Experts have a guess that the nudging was mistaken by the owners for knocking and that the bear, pleased by the result, repeated the trick.
The Loknar family from Gerovo in western Croatia said the bear had knocked at their door three times and they were now refusing to answer the door.
‘We jumped out of the window as he came in through the door and went into the kitchen to take some food for the first time.” Mum Nevenka Loknar told a reporter from a local newspaper. “I opened the door and saw him standing there and I didn’t believe my eyes at first, then I ran for it as he walked in as if it was the most normal- thing in the world.”
Bears are a common thing in the woods around here, but no one has ever heard of a bear that knocks at the door.
Mum Nevenka Loknar said, “The bear is so intelligent. It’s incredible. We’ve tried to put up lots of obstacles to stop him coming in, like a wire fence but he still gets through. I wouldn’t be surprised if he knew how to use wire cutters (鋼絲剪).”
小題1:According to experts in Croatia, how did the bear learn the trick?
A．By knocking at the door several times.B．By accident.
C．By learning from the owner of a family.D．By imitation.
小題2:What does the underlined word “it” in paragraph 5 refer to?
A．Eating at the kitchen.B．Knocking at the door.
C．Walking into the house.D．Answering the door.
小題3:It is ________ in Gerovo that a bear knocks at the door.
A．unusualB．a(chǎn) troubling problem
C．commonD．a(chǎn)n exciting experience
小題4:Mum Nevenka Loknar was surprised that the bear ________.
A．didn’t attack her family
B．knew how to use wire cutters
C．jumped across her wire fence three times
D．was clever at getting through the obstacles

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

Imagine the following scenario(情景): A woman buys her lunch every day from a fast food outlet near her job. After some years, she finds herself 30 pounds overweight, and feeling unhealthy. So what does she do? She chooses to bring a lawsuit against the fast food outlet, claiming that the food served there was the cause of her being overweight and in poor health.
Sounds ridiculous, doesn’t? The only thing more absurd than the story itself is the fact that is not fiction. There are people who have sued（控告）fast food chains for causing their weight problems.
This is an example of one of the ways in which many of us spend enormous amounts of energy trying to deny the undeniable and universal fact that we are all ultimately responsible for our own choices and our own lives.
How much easier would we make it for ourselves if we could accept this fact rather than resist it? But how can we embrace the truth, that we are living the lives we choose to live, that we are enjoying or suffering the consequences(結(jié)果) of our own choices, and that blaming others for our problems and shortcomings is nothing more than a comfortable fantasy?
We must acknowledge the truth of our lives, however unpleasant this may be. If we are overweight, in a bad relationship, in a dead end, we need to accept that this is where we are, at this moment in time.
Imagine that woman decided that she was unhappy with the extra pounds she’d gained after many years of eating fast food on a regular basis. Imagine that this woman took the time to really understand and accept that she and no one else was responsible for her eating choices. Having acknowledged this fact, she then decides to make the changes in her lifestyle to become the healthier, slimmer person she wants to be.
小題1:What would be the best title for the passage?
A．Be responsible for Our Own Choices.
B．Overcome the Challenges in Our Life.
C．Acknowledge the Truth Rather than Deny It.
D．More than a Comfortable Fantasy.
小題2: Why is the woman mentioned twice in the passage?
A．To show the right way of dealing with weight problems.
B．To describe a familiar scenario in life.
C．To give support to the author’s viewpoint.
D．To compare the consequences of different choices.
小題3: What can we learn from the first paragraph?
A．Fast food chains contribute little to people’s overweight problems actually.
B．Fast food outlets are responsible for many people to become overweight.
C．Many people tend to blame others for their own problems.
D．The author himself is a supporter of fast food chains.
小題4: What should a person do if he is in a bad relationship with his roommates, according to the author?
A．Acknowledge the truth of his life and let it be.
B．Think about what’s wrong with himself and then put it right.
C．Accept that this is where we are and wait for things to improve.
D．Do whatever he likes regardless of what others think and say.

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

The popular college rankings focus primarily on prestige as measured by the SAT scores of incoming students and how many applicants are turned away． An initiative（措施）started last fall by the Obama administration could help families go beyond these limited, and far too easily exploited, indexes to learn quickly and easily how a college is compared with its competitors nationally on important criteria like graduation rates, what a degree actually costs and how much debt a student can expect to run up by graduation day．
If the federal government makes it legally necessary to disclose this information in a clear and consistent（一貫的）way, as it should, families will be better able to make informed college choices． And this will help put pressure on colleges that perform poorly to improve．
Critics may regard this initiative as an example of government overreach． But given that the federal government spends nearly $190 billion a year on higher education aid to students, it has a legitimate interest in making sure that the money flows to the schools that best meet their responsibilities to families and students．
Congress has taken some steps to require greater transparency（透明）from colleges． The 1990 Student Right to Know Act, for example, required colleges and universities that receive federal aid to disclose graduation rates． And the 2008 Higher Education Opportunity Act required schools to offer a way for consumers to determine actual costs after student aid is taken into account．
But many colleges have done a poor job of obeying federal disclosure rules, and much of the available information is not in one place． The administration’s new efforts would enforce reporting requirements and provide some new tools．
President Obama wants to expand campus-based aid to about $10 billion from the current $2．7 billion． He has proposed moving money away from colleges that fail to control tuition increases or provide good value to others that do a better job． That is a worthy idea in principle, but he will need strong data-based evidence to determine how colleges are doing．
The transparency initiatives are a good place to start and should be embraced by both parties in Congress． If students and families, facing higher tuition and rising debt, are to make sound choices, they need more and better information．
小題1:Why did the Obama administration start the initiative last fall?
A．To require colleges to make their graduation rates known to the public．
B．To help colleges perform better in the future．
C．To help parents and students make better choices of colleges．
D．To put more pressure on colleges that are not doing well enough．
小題2:Which of the following statements is TRUE according to the passage?
A．Critics agree that the government should require colleges to obey the disclosure rules．
B．Congress has approved and made the transparency initiatives a law．
C．SAT scores alone do not determine one’s choice of college．
D．Students and families find it very difficult to choose their ideal colleges now．
小題3:A most suitable title for the passage could be______．
A．Congress To Require Greater Transparency
B．What College Parents and Students Need to Know
C．What a Good College Is Measured By
D．Parents and Students Need to Make Wise Choices
小題4:What attitude does the author hold towards the transparency initiative?
A．supportiveB．criticalC．indifferentD．not stated

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

In the 1960s Professor Bolin predicted that the “greenhouse effect”, caused by an increase in the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere, would lead to important changes in the Earth’s climate. At the time his prediction were regarded as science fiction. But it is now gradually agreed that the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will double from 0.03% to 0.06% in the next 50 years and that temperatures worldwide will rise by 2°Celsius.
Although a temperature rise of 2°may not seem significant, the local effects may be much greater: in polar regions a rise of 10°by 2025 is expected and in Northern Europe a rise of 4°. Indeed the first effects were expected to be felt before the end of the 20th century,
But how does the “greenhouse effect”operate and why should such a tiny proportion（比例）of CO2 have such a harmful effect? When living creatures breathe out or when things are burned, CO2 enters the atmosphere. Until recently all of this was absorbed by plants, which converted it back into oxygen.
However, the balance of nature has been disturbed. In power stations, in factories and in our cars, we are burning more and more fossil fuels( coal, oil and natural gas ) and this produces huge quantities of CO2---18 billion tons of it enter the atmosphere every year. Added to this, the destruction of forests means that less CO2 can be converted into oxygen by plants. So, the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere is increasing every year.
小題1:Which of the following statements is true according to the passage?
A．Professor Bolin’s predictions were taken seriously in the first place
B．Only a small portion of the atmosphere consists of carbon dioxide
C．No changes in climate will become noticeable for 50 years or more
D．The rise in temperature will probably be 2 degrees in every part of the world.
小題2:The amount of CO2 in the atmosphere is increasing every year because       .
A．Carbon dioxide is produced when we breathe
B．Carbon dioxide is produced when we burn things
C．More forests are destroyed and more fossil fuels are burned
D．The global temperature keeps rising
小題3:The “greenhouse effect”refers to         
A．the problem of the rising global temperature
B．the problem of increasing population worldwide
C．the problem of decreasing population worldwide
D．the problem of air pollution
小題4:The underlined word“operate”in the third paragraph most probably means“      ”.
A．playB．moveC．manageD．function

查看答案和解析>>

科目：高中英語 來源：不詳 題型：閱讀理解

Your children’s teacher will be providing extra time for test preparation. This school year’s test will be held on January 8 and 9. The test preparation time is open to all students, and we strongly encourage your children to attend.
This year we are changing the time for our test preparation: it will be on Thursday mornings from 8:10 to 8:50. This helps children who ride the bus and cannot stay for the after-school period. It also helps avoid conflicts with after-school activities.
Danielle and Marina will be working with the recent new test takers 6 days on the following Thursdays: 15th, Nov; 29th, Nov; 6th, Dec; 13th, Dec.; 20th, Dec. and 3rd, Jan.
Besides the test preparation lectures on these dates, teachers are already putting test preparation into their usual courses. We are finding that we can help our students to be both skillful and whole-hearted readers and test takers — after all, we all know that the best test preparation is good reading and writing training.
What can you do at home? Again, the best and most effective test preparation for the ELA test is reading and more reading. The research is quite clear — students who do well in the tests are those who are good readers. Reading not only builds reading ability, it also helps build confidence — important for successful test taking! But do discourage your children from spending too much time on books that are too hard or even a bit too hard. Children best develop comprehension skills when they are reading books just right for them (too easy doesn’t hurt here either).
Finally, on Friday, December 7, we will have a morning lecture on the ELA. Please pay attention!
小題1:The text is mainly about ________.
A．how teachers will provide more time for test preparation
B．the reason why time for test preparation will be changed
C．how teachers have put test preparation into their usual courses
D．test preparation information that parents should know about
小題2:The time for test preparation has been changed to _________.
A．make it more convenient for the students to attend
B．help the new test-takers have more time to read
C．a(chǎn)void disagreement in time between different years of students
D．a(chǎn)void conflicts between preparation time and the usual courses
小題3:From the passage, we know that ________.
A．Danielle will help students prepare for different tests
B．the school year test will be on a Tuesday
C．a(chǎn)ll the children must take part in the test preparation
D．the students can learn how to write well in the test preparation
小題4: Parents should _____ at home.
A．prepare good meals for their children
B．read more books with their children
C．a(chǎn)sk their children not to spend too much time on reading
D．encourage their children to read more books fit for them
小題5:Why did the school encourage all the students to take part in the test preparation?
A．Test preparation is what they always do.
B．The students will learn what will be included in the final exam.
C．Test preparation helps students to be more interested in reading and confident.
D．The test is a long way off and there are better things to do.

查看答案和解析>>

同步練習(xí)冊答案